Sanders Blasts Both Parties as Billionaire-Controlled

Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a sweeping condemnation of both the Democratic and Republican parties on Wednesday evening during a fiery interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, declaring that the American political system is “largely corrupt” and increasingly shaped by the interests of billionaires and mega-donors rather than by the needs of ordinary Americans.

Appearing on Special Report, Sanders responded to a question about the Democratic Party’s declining favorability ratings not by defending the party, but by challenging the very structure of modern political financing.

The independent senator from Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, made it clear that in his view, both parties have drifted far from their obligations to working people.

Instead, he argued, they are now operating under the control of wealthy elites and corporate backers who determine not only legislation, but the very candidates voters are allowed to choose from.

“I’ll tell you why [Democrats are unpopular],” Sanders said, leaning forward. “People understand that the political system in this country is largely corrupt — both parties.”

Baier pressed for more specifics, and Sanders didn’t hesitate. “Why is that? You know the answer,” he continued. “You have billionaires in both political parties [who] determine what legislation gets to the floor and who is the candidate.”

The 82-year-old lawmaker, a two-time Democratic presidential contender in 2016 and 2020, has long made campaign finance reform and anti-corruption efforts central to his message.

But in this latest appearance, his tone was particularly urgent. With the 2024 presidential election now behind the country and Trump back in the White House, Sanders warned that the influence of wealth has reached an all-time high — not only in the halls of power, but in the actual processes that shape American governance.

In what sounded like a hypothetical — but was clearly intended as a parable for real events — Sanders laid out a scenario where a Republican lawmaker dares to question the party line on tax breaks for the wealthy.

“You’re in the Republican Party and you say, ‘You know what? I don’t like this Trump idea of giving massive tax breaks to the rich and cutting Medicaid and education,’” Sanders said.

“You get up and say that, what happens to you? The next day, Elon Musk says, ‘I’ve got unlimited amounts of money; we’re going to run a candidate in a primary against you.’”

The same, he said, happens within the Democratic Party — though it takes a different form. This time, Sanders pointed the finger directly at AIPAC, the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has ramped up spending in recent election cycles to oppose progressive candidates critical of U.S. military aid to Israel.

“Democratic Party side, what happens if somebody says, ‘You know what? Maybe it’s not a good idea to fund Netanyahu’s war machine, which is creating starvation for children in Gaza — I’m going to vote against that’?” Sanders said. “Next day, AIPAC is going to be running against you.”

His warning wasn’t theoretical. Sanders himself has faced AIPAC-backed opposition in recent years, and several progressives, including Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), have been targeted by millions in outside spending from AIPAC-affiliated political action committees for their positions on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

“We have a corrupt campaign finance system,” Sanders said bluntly. “Billionaires in both political parties are calling the tunes. The American people understand that.”

The senator’s interview comes at a moment of rising discontent with political institutions across the board. Polls show that trust in both Congress and the presidency is at historic lows, and younger voters, in particular, are increasingly alienated from both major parties.

Sanders has been working to channel that frustration into political energy through his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour — a nationwide campaign launched alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in the wake of the 2024 election.

That tour, now in its fifth month, has drawn thousands to rallies in cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, and Phoenix, where Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez call out what they say is the rise of a political economy dominated by corporate power, Wall Street, and billionaire donors.

The campaign highlights growing inequality, the erosion of democratic safeguards, and the rollback of public services like Medicaid, Social Security, and public education under the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Speaking with Baier, Sanders also took aim at Trump’s post-election agenda, describing it as “deeply destructive” and “morally bankrupt.” He criticized the administration’s cuts to Medicaid and education funding, as well as the wave of mass layoffs across federal agencies under what the administration calls a “streamlining reform” initiative.

For Sanders, the notion that America’s budget problems must be solved by slashing support for the vulnerable — while the wealthy continue to reap tax benefits — is proof of the system’s corruption.

“You’ve got billionaires deciding not just who gets elected, but what happens to social programs,” Sanders said. “When the working class is told to tighten their belts while billionaires get tax breaks and subsidies, it’s not hard to understand why people are furious.”

Sanders emphasized that this is not merely a partisan issue. While Trump is the current face of the Republican agenda, Sanders argues that Democrats too often fail to deliver for the very people they claim to represent.

Instead of focusing on Wall Street and Big Tech accountability, too many Democrats, he said, spend their time chasing centrist compromises that water down transformative policies and alienate the party’s grassroots.

“What you have is a two-party system that increasingly responds not to working families, but to the financial elite,” Sanders said.

He also rejected the notion that Democrats could recover support simply by changing candidates or campaign strategies. The deeper problem, in his view, is that voters no longer believe either party truly represents their material interests. “You can’t outmaneuver corruption with a better slogan,” Sanders said. “You have to take it on directly.”

In many ways, Sanders’s appearance on Fox News — a platform historically critical of his ideas — reflects a broader strategy he’s employed for years: reaching voters who don’t necessarily agree with him politically, but who share his anger at a system they believe is broken. On that front, his message appeared to resonate.

“Bernie’s honesty is rare,” said one independent viewer who watched the interview and later commented online. “Even if you don’t agree with his solutions, he’s talking about the real issues.”

As the 2026 midterms approach, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have pledged to continue supporting progressive primary candidates who reject corporate money and advocate for a platform centered on economic justice.

Their goal, they say, is to build a movement strong enough to challenge not just Republicans or centrist Democrats — but the entire structure of elite political control in Washington.

“This is not about Trump,” Sanders said in closing. “This is not about Biden. This is about who owns America — and whether we’re going to let them keep owning it.”